RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) continued to ask questions about how the Richmond School Board is functioning at a meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting is held twice a year to review the 2017 memorandum of understanding or MOU Agreement between the state and the school system. The MOU is an agreement the VDOE said can be implemented when they identify a "division-level failure" to meet state standards.
VDOE's Board President Dan Gecker said he brought up questions about how the board is governing in light of concerns that have been discussed before. He added the department found across the state, it's helpful when boards move in the same direction as the administration and align goals.
"Is the board cohesive? Are we rolling in the same direction?" Gecker said on Wednesday.
In months past, the VDOE's Office of School Quality also expressed concerns to RPS' board chair about recent board actions that could undermine the board's continued efforts to establish and maintain order.
In October, CBS 6 reported that parents raised school board governance to the VDOE, taking issue with long-running meetings and board votes often ending in a 5-4 bloc with a majority voting against recommendations from the superintendent.
RPS' School Board Chair Dr. Shonda Harris-Muhammed was the first to respond to Gecker's questions during Wednesday's meeting. She said at this point, the board is not unified with a 9-0 vote for what the superintendent requests. She added that a 5-4 vote doesn't dictate good or bad governance.
“We have board members who do not trust leadership. Until that mountain is climbed together we will be on descending sides," Harris-Muhammed said
School board member Nicole Jones also weighed in, saying it feels like the board is leading the administration. She said she feels the board can't move forward based on the board's stagnation on certain things.
Jones' colleague Mariah White said she had issues with the governess that can come from a lack of trust, team, and transparency. Board member Cheryl Burke explained how she believes the issues lie in board members getting too personal about certain matters.
Few solutions were suggested at Wednesday's meeting due to time constraints. However, the school board ended the meeting by agreeing that it would be helpful for the VDOE to send all communication to all board members as opposed to just board leadership.
The VDOE said they will continue to be there as a resource for the board ahead of their next scheduled meeting in the spring.
